Simulated Practice: Using Socially-Responsive Avatars to Prepare STEM Graduate Teaching Assistants for Student-Centered Instruction

“TeachLive”是一个混合现实课堂模拟器，通过它，教师培训生可以练习与一小群虚拟学生互动，这些虚拟学生作为学习者扮演不同的现实角色。本项目的培训教师为研究生助教（GTAs），他们越来越多地为大型招生机构的本科入门课程提供指导。当前GTA培训的范围因机构而异，最典型的是需要学习一般的最佳教学实践，很少或没有实际实践，并得到大师老师的反馈。助教们经常被雇来教学生，而他们自己还在学习如何教书。大多数STEM gta和他们的本科生将受益于更有针对性的指导，即如何利用学科内的高影响力实践和教学内容知识吸引学生。TeachLive模拟器为为gta提供高质量培训的问题提供了一个有前途的基于技术的解决方案。TeachLive培训为实践教学提供了一种实时响应机制，并有望比其他助教培训策略（研讨会、短期课程等）更有效，这些策略没有提供足够的反馈（实时或其他）以达到效果。gta将安全地实践循证教学的课程材料将利用在化学、数学、物理和计算机科学四个不同STEM领域开发的概念清单。在过去，TeachLive平台已经被开发并成功地用于培训K-12教师更有效地描述和解释问题，更好地识别学生的误解。这个项目的动机是目前实践中的两个不足。首先，大多数gta都接受过基本的教育学培训，但没有接受过学科方面的具体培训。其次，gta对教学培训使用的保真度变化很大，许多gta没有成功地提供强烈的学生参与学习体验。TeachLive模拟器承诺根据每个特定的GTA的需要定制实践。

"TeachLive" is a mixed-reality classroom simulator through which teacher trainees practice interacting with small groups of virtual students who take on different, realistic roles as learners. The teacher trainees in this project are Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTAs), who increasingly provide the instruction for introductory undergraduate courses in large enrollment institutions. The extent of current GTA training varies by institution and most typically entails learning about generalized pedagogical best practices with little or no actual practice with feedback from a master teacher. GTAs are often hired to teach students while they themselves are still learning to teach. Most STEM GTAs and their undergraduate students would benefit from more intentional instruction on how to engage students using high-impact practices and pedagogical content knowledge within their disciplines. The TeachLive simulator provides a promising technology-based solution to the problem of providing GTAs with high quality training. TeachLive training provides a real-time response mechanism to practice teaching and has the promise of being more effective than other TA training strategies (workshops, short-courses, etc.), which do not provide enough feedback (real-time or otherwise) to be effective. The curricular materials for which GTAs will safely practice evidence-based teaching will utilize concept inventories that have been developed in four different STEM fields, Chemistry, Math, Physics, and Computer Science. In the past the TeachLive platform has been developed and used successfully to train K-12 teachers to describe and explain problems more effectively and to better recognize students' misconceptions. This project is motivated by two deficiencies in current practice. First, most GTAs get basic training in pedagogy, but not specific training in their discipline. Second, GTAs' fidelity of utilization of pedagogical training is highly variable, and many of them don't succeed in providing strong engaged student learning experiences. The TeachLive Simulator has the promise of tailoring practice to each specific GTA depending on their needs.